The new mosquito shields

Venkatachari Jagannathan
24 August 2004

The competition in the mosquito repellent industry just got tougher with the launch of newer forms of repellents like personal sprays and gels

Chennai: The night-long noisy drone of mosquitoes that disturbs our sleep is music to the ears of the Rs1,100-crore mosquito repellent industry. Consequently, the industry is introducing newer forms of repellents like personal sprays and gels.

Market leader Godrej Sara Lee Ltd recently extended its product range with the launch of a spray, gel and a lotion under the Good Knight brand.

The Rs193 crore Camlin Limited — known for its ubiquitous school geometry sets, pens, pencils and erasers — entering the mosquito repellent segment with its Repelmos spray.

Says executive director, Ashish Dandekar, "Our pharma and fine chemicals divisions earn around Rs62 crore. We are the country''s largest manufacturer of food-grade antioxidants."

The two new categories make their entry, though belatedly, in a market dominated by coils, vapourisers and creams.